THE SHOT HEARD AROUND THE WORLD...THE DEATH OF
CAPTAIN AMERICA
In 2008, Marvel Comics published the series “The Death of Captain America” which included the brutal execution of a famous, star-spangled hero, Steve Rogers. Comics have a history as an outlet for political thought and commentary. When dialoguing about post 9/11 comic book literature, this particular comic does not deviate from that pattern in that it has a definitive political agenda. Careful analysis of the visuals, characterization, and text in the graphic novel allow it to serve as a historical account of the political sentiments of the American people during the War on Terror. The evident political inclusion causes the reader to wonder what, does “The Death of Captain America” graphic novel series say about political ideologies at the time of its publication?
The comic uses graphic depictions of violence, specific colors and hues, and symbolism to mirror the political controversy in the United States of America at the time of publication. Brian Burke, in his “Analysis of the Rhetorical Nature of Comic Books” asserts that “the comic book writer and artist must not only create a story using words, but also exchange textual description and narration for graphic depictions. The effectiveness of the story relies on the how the text and the graphic art are brought together to complement each other.” (Burke 1-2). Therefore, artwork and visual style of the comic book creates the mood and atmosphere by which the author is able to present his textual views and ideas. The excessive death and violence contained in “The Death of Captain America” comics rattle the audience and exemplify the destructive nature of the characters involved. Sacrifice and martyrdom are the two themes that are essential to the plot, and the author demands that such moments are taken seriously. Within the first few pages of “The Death of the Dream”, Brubaker dedicates an astounding twenty-two panels to the assassination of Steve Rogers. The portrayal is striking and shows the bullets entering and exiting his body (Brubaker 127-131/5-18). Blood splatters and discharges from his torso and his nostrils (Brubaker 127-131/5-18). In the latter portion of the graphic serial, protestors showing their disapproval for government policy are mercilessly slaughtered by machine gun fire. These panels are gory with blood and obvious anguish stricken across their faces. Such depictions of death allow the comic to warrant a Teen Plus (recommended for ages 16 and older) rating for its graphic content. The comic book is visually dark and lacks saturation. Color is a thematic element for comic book storytelling, the selected colors give the artwork an angst of its own and plays upon the reader’s predisposition to associating certain events with colors. The backgrounds consist mainly of black, muted grays, and other neutrals. As the motivation for their research into the impact of color upon behavior, Frank and Gilovich say that “Black is viewed as the color of evil and death in” a large number of cultures and societies (1). This somber association with this particular hue provides an explanation for the artists’ excessive inclusion of it. Additionally, the bleak background imagery is what allows the colored costumes of the characters to stand out more vividly. Red, white, and blue are a reoccurring visual theme, especially in the costume designs of the characters. For example, Steve Rogers’s lover dons white and his closest friends wear blue and red. These color inclusions are subtle at first, but once aware of its resemblance of the American flag palette, the artist’s intent becomes unmistakable. The most recurrent and significant symbol of political innuendo in the text is the American Flag. The most obvious instance of this occurring is the Captain America costumes by Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes that each bear the iconic stars and stripes. Dr. Webster, a professor of Geography at the University of Wyoming explains the significance of the flag, by saying that “a state’s iconography provides a foundation for the promotion of national pride and, depending on one’s definitions, both patriotism and nationalism” (2).
The most blatant political commentary is located in the speech bubbles and captions where Ed Brubaker directly involves the audience in candid conversations via his characters and descriptive narration. The bias expressed by the characters allows for creative discussion of controversial topics. The dialogue is provocative and undeniably politically charged. Rather than pushing a specific side or angle, the comic asserts that the country is in a state of hurt and dissension. It calls for the activism of citizens within a country’s affairs rather than apathy, by stating, “It can all fall apart so quickly that we don’t even realize it…how fragile this country—this society—really is. People grow complacent […] and then it all comes crashing down” (Brubaker 333/1-2). Brubaker clearly addresses the issues plaguing American society at the comic’s time of publication, specifically the 2008 financial crisis “that was the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression of 1929” (Hemmelgarn and Nicodeme 2). Whilst witnessing a protest, James Barnes concludes that “Hell is politics […] A lot of things the crowd is scared about. Skyrocketing gas prices, the plunging dollar, food riots, the housing market crash…its like someone’s having a fire sale on our country” (Brubaker 461-463/1-8). The comic ends with a glimmer of hope for a better future in light of a realization of the nation’s troubled state of existence. In the final panels, a character admits, “It’s not easy, you think, being Captain America…It never was, but back in your day at least the world made sense…not like this place…so fast, so decadent, so wrong…this isn’t your America…but it will be someday…” (Brubaker 540/4-6). The author alludes to the contrast between the moral clarity of involvement in World War II and the War on Terror.
Ed Brubaker uses the backgrounds and personalities of the main characters to create hypothetical scenarios in which he may explore the morality of involvement in conflicts and government intervention in the affairs of individual agendas. As a pervasive cultural icon, “Captain America serves as a territorial symbol for the United States” due to his exuberant patriotism and radical allegiance to constitutional principles of freedom and governance (Dittmer 256). Within the context of Brubaker’s story, Steve Rogers aligns with his historic reputation- he is considered a hero, a veteran of the second world war, and his motives stem from desires for equality and freedom (Brubaker 115-117/1-10). In the comics, he falls out of favor with the nation he loves when he refuses to submit to a program designed to supervise and direct the actions of superheroes called the Superhero Registration Act (Howe 425). Steve refuses to bow to the federal government, claiming that individual freedom has greater prerogative than the benefits of an oversight program. Prompted by his beliefs, he leads a crusade to protect the freedom and personal privacy of vigilantes. For his weapon, he wields a shield. This is significant because a shield primarily serves as a defensive piece of equipment. It is typically non-lethal which is a primary exhibit of Steve Roger’s inherent desire to save and protect rather than destroy. This parallels to the original entry into conflict in the Middle East where “in the aftermath of the attack on the World Trade Center, President Bush decided to seek to destroy not only al-Quaeda, but the Taliban regime […]” (Richardson, 416). This initial entrance into the war was not controversial since it was a decisive rebuttal to the massive attack on the United States and a show of power to extinguish any notions of vulnerability (Rockmore 75). In contrast to Steve Rogers, James Barnes lives in the morally grey with a bloody and tainted past. Sean Howe, in his expansive account of the history of Marvel Comics acknowledges James Barnes’ comic book origins, saying “it was revealed […] that Bucky Barnes had been a bionic-armed Soviet assassin since World War II” who committed heinous crimes against his will (425). His vendetta, while it is justice, hinges on revenge and preemptive behavior. After the death of his Rogers, his best friend, James ventures out on a personal quest for revenge and inevitably takes up the name and costume of Captain America in Steve’s sudden absence (Brubaker 229/8). His weapon of choice is a gun. The gun is definitively lethal and destructive with a more offensive purpose rather than defensive. James has a mentality of taking preventative action in order to entirely eliminate the need for a defensive response. The transition of the mantle of Captain America carries undeniable political symbolism. Steve stands as a bastion of morality and ethical concern. This is how the government viewed its initial engagement in the Middle East (Webster 1). As the conflict dragged on, perspectives shifted as some believed the continued involvement to be unnecessary and with motives that were definitively not above reproach (Webster 1). This attribute is visible in American foreign policy as the War on Terror exemplifies “the use of war in part to defend the U.S. against its enemies, real or imagined, but also as an obvious effort to seize an occasion to further” expand the power and influence of the United States of America. Both men refuse to act under oversight, preferring to only hold themselves accountable to their own personal moral codes (Brubaker 330/4). By executing Steve Rogers, the author eliminates their symbol for American morality and good intention. Captain America’s guise is worn by a more lethal and less moral individual which in turn, reflects America’s changing position on Middle Eastern conflict.
Additionally, Ed Brubaker brings his fantastical graphic novels to a more realistic level by including scenes that appear to have come directly from the pages of a newspaper or a television broadcast. This technique is described by Jason Dittmer, in his article detailing the power of comics, as when the author “takes the events of the real world and builds it into the events of the comic book serial” narrative (253). “Protestors with their signs and demands are encapsulated within the inked pages of the novel. While their signs may not contain propositions that smack of realism, their demeanor and presentation is an obvious allusion to the protests held by Americans in regards to changes in policy brought about by international conflict like the Patriot Act as well as anti-war sentiments. Examples of such declarations spread across crude signs are: “Who gave the order?”, “BLOOD ON YOUR HANDS RESIGN NOW!!”, “NO!”, “WE WANT CIVIL LIBERTY?”, “SELL OUTS”, “SAVE OUR HOMES” and “Free Speech” (Brubaker 360-362/1-15). In the final volume of the trilogy, Brubaker introduces a new character, Senator Wright, who is in the midst of his presidential campaign during the events of the comics (Brubaker 405/1-6). With his white hair and aged face, the character of Wright bears striking similarity to former President George W. Bush. Whilst Wright is not a caricature, the familiarity of his features is another allusion to the presidential election occurring around the time of publication. The audience only sees broken fragments of Presidential candidate Wright’s speech, which smacks of allusion to the struggle for civil liberties infringed upon by the Patriot Act. In his address he proclaims “No more to democracy It’s our country for the people the Constitution freedom but with security” (Brubaker 458/2-3). Wright’s campaign is not a peaceful one. Multiple attempts are made to take his life and following the climax of the comic, Wright ultimately withdraws from the presidential race (Brubaker 539/1).
Captain America was not killed in vain. By assassinating the “anthropomorphic embodiment of the American nation” the author and artists desired to creatively show the transition in American War Policy and international involvement ideologies (Dittmer 257). In a fictional scope, they captured the turmoil surrounding the War on Terror in the minds of the American people. They question American legitimacy and exceptionalism by showing the vulnerability and inevitable lack of faith in a hero archetype in a dramatic fashion (Smith and Goodrum 1). In order to accomplish this goal, they made careful use of visuals, characterization, and as well as dialogue and narration. These tools, woven together allows the graphic novel to encapsulate American political sentiments of the time.
WORKS CITED
Burke, Brian. “An Analysis of the Rhetorical Nature of Comic Books”. Works & Days, vol. 32, Nos. 1&2, 2015-2015, pp.169-179.
Brubaker, Ed (w), Epting, Steve, Butch Guice, Luke Ross (p), Perkins, Mark, Lee Weeks, Stefano Gaudiano, et al. (a). The Death of Captain America-The Complete Collection. Ed. Jennifer Grünwald. NY: Marvel Comics, 2013.
Dittmer, J. “The Tyranny of the Serial: Popular Geopolitics, the Nation, and Comic Book Discourse”. Antipode, 2007, pp. 247-268.
Frank, Mark G., and Thomas Gilovich. "The Dark Side of Self-and Social Perception: Black Uniforms and Aggression in Professional Sports." Journal of {Personality and Social Psychology 54.1 (1988): 74.
Howe, Sean. Marvel Comics: The Untold Story. United States, Harper, 2013.
Hemmelgarn, Thomas, and Gaëtan Nicodème. "The 2008 Financial Crisis and Taxation Policy."(2010).
Richelson, Jeffrey T. The US Intelligence Community. United States, United States, Westview Press, 2008.
Rockmore, Tom. “On War, Politics and Capitalism After 9/11”. Theoria: A Journal of Social & Political Theory, no. 110, 2006, pp. 74-96.
Schmidt, Christinne. “Initiation to Reading Multimodal Narratives an Introduction to Understanding Comics”. Journal Plus Education, vol. 22, no. 1, Jan. 2019, pp. 149-162.
Smith, Philip, and Michael Goodrum. "‘We Have Experienced a Tragedy Which Words Cannot Properly Describe’: Representations of Trauma in Post‐9/11 Superhero Comics."Literature Compass, vol. 8.8, 2011, pp. 487-498.
Webster, Gerald R. “American Nationalism, the Flag, and the Invasion of Iraq”. The Geographical Review, vol. 101, no. 1, Jan. 2011, pp. 1-18.